Jefferson City levee further along than many

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave an update on the progress of levee rehabilitation Thursday in Callaway County.

Col. William Hannan, commander of the Kansas City District, gave an update on levee rehab across the state and said that Jefferson City is further along than most.

Hannan said the levee located just east of the Jefferson City Water Treatment Plant is about 95 percent finished and only needs to be seeded.

Seeding is likely to happen later this summer or early fall.

The levee was damaged when historic flooding hit the Missouri River last spring. The river burst through and overtopped levees in northwest and central Missouri.

Hannan said the process of rebuilding a levee usually takes around two years. Jefferson City has been lucky but areas of northwest Missouri haven't seen the same quick progress..

Hannan said bids to repair 52 of 65 damaged levees have been either awarded or advertised.

Hannan said farmers he spoke with had two main concerns -- how can the Corps move faster in its work and what is being done to prevent this in the future.

Missouri doesn't have a single management system for levees. Hannan talked about the assortment of federal, locally sponsored and private levees in the state. The commander believes that adding a set system may make it easier to repair and improve the structures.

Policy and laws can drastically drag out the time table for repair for some of these levees. Hannan said the Corps is still working on some improvement projects from areas hit during the 1993 flood.

Check back or watch ABC 17 News at 5 and 6 for more on this developing story.